Layer Repeater
  • Fake DaneFake Dane
    This is really great, man!  I was working on something like this but for shape layers (so you could animate and offsets fills and strokes and so on).  Let me know if you're interested in taking a look at the project (it's just linked by expressions now--pretty basic).
  • Harries StubeHarries Stube
    great stuff!
  • Adam KatzAdam Katz
    Glad to hear you like it. I hope it's helping you make some fun animations.
  • Michael SchaefferMichael Schaeffer
    Great script! Thanks for offering this. Is there a way to hide the backsides a la Dan Ebberts' Invisible facing away script? 

    Or better yet, a solid color for the backs?

    I know I'm asking a lot, but this would come in handy.

    Thanks again,
    Mike


  • Adam KatzAdam Katz
    Yeah, that should be possible. At least the part about hiding the backsides. I think I'll have some time this week to test that out.

    Thanks for suggestion,
    Adam
  • Adam KatzAdam Katz
    One sided support has now been added. There is a new checkbox labeled "One Sided". Check it if you want to hide the back side of all layers.
  • James ArnottJames Arnott
    I can move, rotate my layers, but as soon as i set two keyframes, it doesn't move them at all. On preview you can see the values change in the effects panel, but no animation occurs on screen. i am using OSX 10.7.4 After effects cs6.
  • Adam KatzAdam Katz
    Hi James,

    What properties are you animating?

    Can you check and see if Live Update is activated for your composition?
  • Jeff LeonJeff Leon
    Hello,

    The plugin isn't working. When I hit the GO! button it creates a pre-comp with the layers and a null object but it doesn't show any controls or properties to modify.

    I have AE CS6

  • Adam KatzAdam Katz
    HI Jeff,

    I'm sorry you're having trouble with the plugin. Are you on a Mac or PC? If you run the plugin on a new project with just one composition, and one layer, does it work?

    Adam
  • ajo almajo alm
    hi, i'm having trouble installing the latest version, 2.1


    i have administrator privileges and even tried creating an account named "Administrator" but still no luck. i'm on a mac running AE CS6.
  • Adam KatzAdam Katz
    HI Adriel,

    I'm sorry you are having trouble installing the script. The v2.1 of the script installs a custom effect into the PresetEffects.xml file in your After Effects Application folder. Here are directions to install the custom effect manually, after which the Layer Repeater should not ask you to be Administrator anymore.

    1. Open a Finder window, and go to the location of your After Effects Application.

    2. Right click on the application, and choose "Show Package Contents".

    3. After a new finder window opens up, browse to the directory "Contents/Resources/"

    4. Inside the Resources directory should be a file named PresetEffects.xml

    5. Edit this file. At the very bottom of the file, will be a line that says </Effects>

    6. Insert a couple blank lines above that line, and paste the code from the following link:

    (After you paste the code, save the file and restart After Effects. The Layer Repeater script should now be working.)

    http://adamkatz.ffsmultimedia.com/scripts/afx/scripts/LayerRepeater/LayerRepeaterEffect.txt

  • ajo almajo alm
    Thanks Adam! Your instructions worked just fine. 

    I figured out the problem, the PresetEffects.xml file was not allowing any write capability for some reason. I had to manually enable read & write for administrator to even alter the file using your instructions. Weird, but glad I got it working.
  • Adam KatzAdam Katz
    Great! Glad it worked for you. And thanks for letting me know about the read/write issue with PresetEffects.xml
  • Lloyd AlvarezLloyd Alvarez
    Here is a tutorial that shows how to fix any permission issues with the PresetEffects.xml file on mac OSX


  • Kevin CampbellKevin Campbell
    Hi - 

    Regarding layer order, is there a way to have the source layer be on the BOTTOM instead of always on the top, where the layers that are generated will appear "above" or on top?  I'm animating a stack of coins, and need the source coin to be on the bottom of the stack, not on the top so I can animate them dropping into frame... if that makes sense.

    Thanks for this amazing script regardless!
  • Adam KatzAdam Katz
    Hi Kevin,

    Glad you like the script. You should be able to achieve the effect you're looking for by making the layers 3d when you run the script. Then offset them with a very small amount in the negative direction (something like -0.1). That should move every layer forward a bit, and put the source layer at the back.
  • Dave PattersonDave Patterson
    Is this compatible with CC After Effects?
    Can this script also repeat nulls? 
    What are the key differences between this and Momcilo Stojkovic's Centrum script?
  • Adam KatzAdam Katz
    Hi Dave,

    Yes, the script is compatible with After Effects CC.
    The main difference from this script and Centrum is the ability to repeat any layer you want. So you can repeat footage layers and animate offsets between them. You can even offset animation on a layer over time. 
    Since you can repeat any layer, you can use the script on nulls, lights, solids, anything except cameras.
    Lastly, Layer Repeater is pay-what-you-want.

    The main difference on Centrum's side is it has the ability to create different shapes with the layers it creates.
  • Tim BrookTim Brook
    Seems to do the job until you try to animate between keyframes on one of the properties. Is this something I'm missing?
  • Adam KatzAdam Katz
    Just in case anyone comes across the same issue that Tim had: Once you run the Layer Repeater, and have a Null and the Layer Repeater precomp, you can not take these layers and put them into another precomp.

    If you need them in a precomp, you must make a new composition, and drag the entire Layer Repeater comp into it.
  • Matthew CarlinMatthew Carlin
    I'm getting an error when i try and run the script "Can not add Layer repeater effect to layer repeater null" If you have just installed Layer Repeater , you need to restart After Effects (You do not need to be administrator)"

    I have restarted it multiple times, essentially it seems to be stuck in a loop.  Any ideas what's going on?  Mac OS X Lion 10.7.5, After Effects CS5

  • Adam KatzAdam Katz
    Hi Matthew,

    A couple questions:
    1) What version of Layer Repeater are you running?
    2) If it's version 2.x, when you first started it up, did the dialog ask you to Install?
    3) Had you had a previous version of Layer Repeater already installed on your system?
  • Matthew CarlinMatthew Carlin
    Hi,it's  Layer Repeater 2.3, when i first started up it came up with a panel saying to install (the effects presets i assume) i clicked that but it didn't have permissions so i copied the the effects in manually, and then subsequently changed the permission on that file too.  Then started up again where i could then see the dialog asking me how many layers etc.. but everytime i applied it it duplicates the layers but as soon as it creates the null i get the error above. 

     
  • Adam KatzAdam Katz
    This problem is not entirely solved yet, however for anyone else reading who may be using After Effects CS5.

    If you are trying to run Layer Repeater v1.4 on a precomp, make sure that the precomp has a unique name, and not just the name After Effects automatically gave it when it made the precomp.
  • Richard KrolewiczRichard Krolewicz
    Great plugin!
  • Adam KatzAdam Katz
    Hi Richard,

    I'm sorry you're having trouble with the Frame offset. It should work with the following steps:
    1) Create at least 2 keyframes on any of the properties
    2) Increase the Frame property to something bigger than 0
    3) All layer copies should now have the same animation as the first layer, all offset in time by this many frames

    If it's still not working, would you mind answering a few questions?
    1) What version of Layer Repeater are you using?
    2) What property are you animating?
    3) Are your layers 2d or 3d?
    4) How many layers are you working with?

    Adam
  • Benjamin NewellBenjamin Newell
    I've got a shape layer with al ellipse animated to scale up and then another ellipse follows behind it with a "merge paths" effect set to subtract. The resulting animation is basically a bubble that scales up and "pops". Anyway, I downloaded this script because I want to create coppies of this shape layer and offset it in time with a simple set of controls. All of the properties in the script appear to work except for the the Frame -->Offset. When I offset the frames in either direction nothing happens.
  • Adam KatzAdam Katz
    Hey Benjamin,

    I'm sorry you're having trouble with Frame Offset. What version of the script are you using? 

    Frame Offset should work with the following steps:
    1) Create at least 2 keyframes on any of the properties
    2) Increase the Frame property to something bigger than 0
    3) All layer copies should now have the same animation as the first layer, all offset in time by this many frames

    Are these the steps you have taken?



  • alice airesalice aires
    Hello, I can't install either of the versions in After effects CC, on my mac. The same message comes up, saying: 'Can't import file "Layer repeater v2-3.jsx": unsupported filetype or extension. (0::1)

    I'd really appreciate it if you could tell me a way to fix it, thanks
  • Adam KatzAdam Katz
    Hi Alice,

    I'm sorry if you're having a problem with the script. How are you getting the script into After Effects? You should be running it from the "File -> Scripts -> Run Script File" menu.
  • alice airesalice aires
    Hey I've managed to run 2.3, I watched the youtube tutorial on how to change the admin settings on the .xml file and it worked. :)
  • Adam KatzAdam Katz
    Glad to hear it! Enjoy the script.
  • Nick LovellNick Lovell
    Hey there - installed just fine, but as soon as I go to run it, it says "After Effects error: internal verification failure, sorry! {unexpected match name searched for in group} ( 29 :: 0 ).  Any ideas?
  • Adam KatzAdam Katz
    Hi Nick,

    What version of After Effects are you running? After Effects CC 2014 had a bug that was stopping Layer Repeater from working. However the most recent update to 13.1 seems to have fixed it.

    Can you try upgrading to the most recent version and run the script again?

    Adam
  • Benoît KergosienBenoît Kergosien
    Hi Adam,

    Nice job, your script is very convenient!

    As an update, would it be possible to add parameters to randomize layers wich would be visible, with in addition a slider to change the seed of the random.

    Cheers,

    Benoit.
  • Adam KatzAdam Katz
    Hi Benoit,

    I'm glad you like the script. What version are you running? In version 2.3, there are options to randomize the opacity under Opacity -> Random. You can also change the seed under Random -> Seed

    Adam
  • Benoît KergosienBenoît Kergosien
    My bad Adam, I installed the wrong version.

    Your script is even more convenient in 2.3!

    I tweaked a little the parameters but I can't achieve to have layers  either 100% or 0% of opacity.

    Is there a way to do that?

    A random option in the visibility tab would be great!

    Thanks for your answers.

    Benoit
  • Adam KatzAdam Katz
    HI Benoit,

    That's a good idea, and I'll try to add it to the next version of the script.

    In the meantime, here is a way you can get the same effect:

    1) Under Opacity, disable "Begin-End"
    2) Under Opacity, animate "Base going from 100% -> 0%
    3) Make the two keyframes you just created Hold Keyframes
    4) Under Frame, turn "Random" to 100%
    5) Animate Random -> Seed

    Basically, this will animate your layers to snap from 100% opacity to 0%. By turning on Frame -> Random, a random selection of your layers will disappear. By animating the seed, you can animate which layers are visible.

    Adam
  • Stunami SmithStunami Smith
    Presale Questions.

    1. Can you repeat along a radial axis? All examples I saw in video only show linear repeats, scales and rotations. I like that it supports spiraling effects from rotation but I want an even distribution around a circle center point, and the ability to define the coordinates of this point

    2. Does it allow for time offset? So copies animation start at different times?


    Reminds me of Red Giant - Hall of Mirrors and Hall of Time plugins.
  • Adam KatzAdam Katz
    Hi Stunami,

    Thanks for checking out the script.

    1. Yes, you can have repeats along a radial axis. You can do this the following way after you have applied Layer Repeater:
    a) Change the anchor point so it is offset from the layer
    b) Change the Rotation/Offset around whichever axis you want the layers rotated around
    c) Move the Position/Base to wherever you want the center of the circle to be.

    2. Yes, you can offset animation.
    a) Create animation on any Layer Repeater property you want
    b) Change the Frame/Offset effect to control how many frames you want the animation offset by.

    Adam
  • CheukYin HaiCheukYin Hai
    Frame offset doesn't seem to work in CC 2015.
  • Adam KatzAdam Katz
    Hi CheukYin,

    I'm sorry you're having a problem with the script. I'll take a look at it and see if I can figure out the issue.

    Adam
  • Adam KatzAdam Katz
    Hi CheukYin,

    This seems to be working on my copy of CC 2015 on Windows. Here's a simple way to test if it's working.

    1) Add a layer to your scene and run Layer Repeater on it.
    2) Animate any one of the base properties, such as Position -> Y -> Base
    3) Increase the Frame -> Offset property to 5

    The first layer should move at the time when you've set the keyframes
    The rest of the layers should animate offset from the first layer every 5 frames.

    I've attached a basic After Effects file that shows this off.

    Adam



    aep
    aep
    Frame Offset Example.aep
    227K
  • CheukYin HaiCheukYin Hai
    Thank you for the demo!
    Now I see that I was looking for a way to offset the start time of a comp, which is quite different from what's been done in your demo.
  • Adam KatzAdam Katz
    Glad the demo could clarify things for you.

    Adam
  • Casey SattlerCasey Sattler
    Hello, I'm running on my Mac as an Administrator, but it still won't install for me, telling me that I need to be the admistrator....  please advise.
  • Adam KatzAdam Katz
    Hi Casey,

    I'm sorry you're having a problem getting it installed. Can you please try what's in this tutorial video and see if it helps.



    Thanks,
    Adam
  • Sean GallagherSean Gallagher
    I've installed this successfully and see the controls for the null object.
    My layer is a flat image, a png file.
    Even though I adjust the controls to have 9 copies and adjust offsets for the X and Y, no copies are created?

    I'm using cc2015 on el capitan.

    live preview is enabled.

  • Adam KatzAdam Katz
    Hi Sean,

    I'm sorry you're having an issue with the script. How many layers have you specified when first running the script?

    The Copies control can only show up to that number of layers.

    Adam
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